Symbiotic ownership, cultural alignment, and firm performance: A test among international strategic alliances

Based on a sample of 61 international firms in China with industry symbiosis, we examine the effects of cultural alignment on firm performance. We first predict that symbiosis will have a negative effect on firm performance. After that, focusing on the most dimension of culture, i.e., collectivism/individualism, we also predict that in a society with a high collectivistic value, organizational collectivism will be positively correlated with firm performance because of its alignment with the prevailing societal culture. Finally, we predict that this cultural value should have a moderating effect on the relationship between symbiosis and performance. Data are collected from multiple sources to test these predictions. The results of the data analyses show the benefits of building a collectivistic organizational culture for firms with a high level of industry symbiosis.

► We examine the effects of symbiotic ownership and cultural alignment on firm performance.
► Our data are collected from 61 international firms with ownership symbiosis in China.
► Cultural alignment is found to be positively correlated with firm performance.
► Ownership symbiosis is shown to be negatively correlated with the same firm performance.
► Finally, cultural value has a moderating effect on the relationship between the symbiosis and the performance.